Tom's Beautiful Garden

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The Book

Introduction
One of the most enjoyable parts of owning a house is the creativity involved in caring for its grounds. It matters little whether it is a small ten by twenty yard just out the back door of a town home, a large multi-acre estate with many buildings, or somewhere between. That is the area that, to me, is my part of nature to care for and to nurture.

The effort and care that I put into my yard is repaid in a multitude of returns. A most relaxing activity can be simply observing what goes on within it, the creatures visit and how they interact with the landscape and each other. Different furred, feathered, and scaled animals are attracted to different parts, different plants, and different structures, each gravitating to that which best suites its immediate needs.

There are always surprises to be had. No matter how often I stroll through my yard, no matter how thoroughly I examine it, there is always something new — something previously overlooked, or something changed. A landscape is dynamic, always changing with seasons that are never quite the same as those past, and with growth that is constant as the years progress. Much of the change is predictable — good planning incorporates and capitalizes on it — but much is not. Unforseen developments keep the landscape fresh and interesting.